Interesting article on car reliability and why US carmakers are flailing.

 

One thing they fail to factor in is the type of customer that each brand attracts. Since certain buyers with certain expectations will report problems while others will hardly even notice the same "problem," it's hard to do an article like this without taking that factor into account.

 

My 94 Corvette, I had 90,000 miles w/ all bolt on's and exhaust and never replaced anything. My 98 Acura CL, replaced window regulator, rear tail wing LCD's and engine seals went out at 45,000 miles. I have an Escalade right now with high miles and runs perfect.

 

I just got out of a G6 rental car this past week.

piece of crap. The emblem on the steering wheel wasn't centered. The worst seats I have EVER sat in...I could feel the split line between the cushions on my back.

The cupholders are too shallow...couldn't even hold a medium Subway cup.

The overhead center light rattled like a bee.

I can go on and on.

This on a car that had 9700 miles on it.

 

I'll agree with you there, you get in a G6, Grand Am, Cavalier... and they aren't nearly as nice as a Civic, Accord, Altima... but the American cars nowadays will last with little maintenance.

 

assuming all the scheduled maintenances are done, American cars may last for long period of time. BUT the resale value just kills american cars. personally, i would never buy new american car for the money i lose when trade-in

 

I wonder why the Chrysler brands are nowhere to be found on the list? anyone know?

 

let me tell you i saw the new milan, and it looks pretty sweet, but b/c of resale forget it

 

I have a '88 Chevy Astro cargo van with the 4.3L V6 that I bought new and now has close to 400K miles and it's still has the same engine and tranny and it purrs like a kitten, basically have just replaced wear and tear items throughout the years and that's about it. Only problems it has is that it burns a little oil on startup and leaks a drop or two oil a week, probably need to replace the oil pan gaskets. But overall it's been very reliable hell it's been more reliable then my '98 LX470, which only has 60K miles, and has had several annoying problems pop up every year.

 

Im actually kind of diggin the Fit.

 

jealous.

 

I've never really been a critic of how long american cars last, I have a 70's 7 litter v8 in a 56 ford truck with a newer c6 and nine inch, it's solid as a rock. That doesn't mean I want to drive it every day. I drove a brand spankin new 2006 mustang v6 rental for 3 days and going from my lowely 97 2.2 cl, it was a massive downgrade. Every little bit of the interior felt like it was made as cheaply as possible, it had even developed rattles during those 3 days. (and i was the first to rent this particular car, it was brand new). And thats the mustang, Basically fords big thing.

Reliability sure got japanese cars the foothold in the market, but they now have many other advantages over the american competition.

 

Big American can build good big cars. But they can't build good small car. Same thing with the Japanese. The tiny guys can build very good small cars. But they can't build good big car.

 

i guess i don't have a problem with buying american. i just happened to end up with two acuras. before i met my wife (the owner of the cl) i had a 98 f150 and the only problem i ever had with that truck was the one i caused myself. and that truck had a drop, system, etc. after that i bought a dodge durango, again...not one single problem. i didn't even know where the dodge dealership in pensacola was. so i don't know i don't knock anything until i put some serious use on it. i'd buy american if there was something out there that fits what i'm looking for

 

Here's my American nightmare story...

Aunt (who I lived with at the time) bought a 2001 Ford Ranger.

within 10k miles, the tranny started to go. She brought it back to the dealership and had to pay $100 or so "deductible" for the warranty work.

at about 15k miles, the tranny started to go again. She brought it back to the dealership and AGAIN they wanted $100 deductible for the warranty work. She said that they did not fix it correctly the first time, so she should not have to pay again. They said no pay, no fix.
So she paid again.

at about 25k miles, the tranny started to go again. She brought it back in to the dealership. There was a metallic rattling sound from the tranny everytime it shifted. Dealer now says, and I quote, "The sound is normal...we call it the marbles in a jar sound, but it's normal!"

at 34k miles, the tranny craps out. Now the truck is out of warranty and dealership will not fix it under any courtesy or anything. We must pay full repair price to fix it.

Bullshit I tell you. I remember when my shift knob of my CL-S started to wear...I called up Park Ave. Acura and since I was 2 hrs away from them, they SHIPPED ME a replacement under warranty!

it's not just that american cars have more problems...it's the shitty way they treat customers on top of that.

 

Can't argue with that, my local Ford dealer service department (Tamiami Ford) are the biggest bunch of assholes I've ever come across. Local Chevy dealer isn't any better either.

 

GM's might have crappy interiors and such, but they sure do know how to build solid trannies.

 

My friend has a 140,000 mile Turbo Trans Am. With a custom Turbo kit, tune, 150 shot, on the stock motor and runs 10's all day long. He tracks the car all summer long and is his daily driver, unless it snows. That thing is still running hella strong and does excellent on compression checks.

 

Buy a Toyota Previa....probably be about the same as your cargo van.....

 

What reality do you live in? Lexus......nuff said.

 

The 3800 series v6 is a solid motor too

 

Toyota Previa's 4 banger would burnout with the trailer's I've pulled with the Astro. They are just for families and not for work/towing.

 

american cars are just CHEAP...period

you sit in a cheap japanese car like a civic, and the interior is refined, nice looking

sit in a god damn g6 or something, even the new c6, the interior is just crappy

the only american cars i would ever drive are oldschools and muscle cars.....maybe a GMC

 

I think it's obvious that cost-cutting has hurt at least Nissan, if not Honda, in recent interiors.

But I'm not afraid that a Chevy or Ford would fall apart. I think the new cars will run reliably well for many years, the better to enjoy their crappiness and lack of inspired driving dynamics and interior design.

 

no no no, saturn sky has a wicked interior, lol its better then the c6's, i am too lazy to post pics, i think they been posted already

 

Wowwwwww, so one little roadster they produce does.

GM needs to be consistently good, or they're gonna shrink so that all they produce are specialty models.

 

If I sit in a new civic, the interior is ass backwards, the speedo is up on the dash, the tach is down by the wheel and the hood is no where to be found when parking.

Sit in a cobalt SS, compare it to an Si and then try and complain. Its just not reality, cars are different and thats what makes them great.

 

I think cost-cutting is what saved nissan.

People won't buy a car with a wicked-good interior if the overall car is just ho-hum.

Nissan systematically cut the interiors to focus on the rest of the car (drivetrain, exterior design, features/tech, etc.). The interior they made just "adequate" for the time being. People were willing to look past the interior because the rest of the car was kick-ass.

But once people started buying the cars, the company makes money but eventually reaches a plateau...which is happening now with the last/current generation of nissan/infiniti products.

Now to get over the plateau, they focus on interiors which the next generation of cars should be very good (starting with the M).


Acura did the same thing with the last TL...they had to cut a lot of costs to make a good car overall so people would buy it. Then they can improve eventually once the cars are considered popular.

 

my girlfriend's used focus hatch is nothing but a trouble so far.